Wright State to Receive Diversity in Athletics Award

May 27, 2008

Wright State University is one of 12 Division I institutions that will be awarded the 2007-08 Overall Excellence in Diversity Award, it was announced recently by the NCAA.


The Diversity in Athletics Award honors NCAA Division I and II athletic departments that excel in the area of diversity.


Through independent research conducted by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University and supported by the NCAA, athletic departments are recognized in eight categories. Those categories are: diversity strategy, gender diversity of department employees, racial diversity of department employees, value and attitudinal (values, attitudes and personality) diversity of department employees, graduation of African-American female student-athletes, graduation of African-American male student-athletes, gender equity compliance (substantial proportionality) and overall excellence in diversity.


In the future, NCAA institutions from all three divisions will be surveyed and recognized, with a list of diversity best practices to be developed and shared with athletic administrators at all institutions.


The 2007-08 winners will be honored in conjunction with the NCAA Fellows Leadership Development Program graduation ceremony on June 11 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, site of the 2008 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention. Retiring WSU Director of Athletics Dr. Michael Cusack will be presented the 2008 Division I-AAA ADA Gary Cunningham Lifetime Achievement Award at the same convention a day earlier.


The following is the list of NCAA Division I institutions that will be awarded the 2007-08 Overall Excellence in Diversity Award:

University of Central Florida (UCF)
University of Colorado
Drexel University
East Tennessee State University
Kansas State University
Long Beach State University
University of Miami (Fla.)
Ohio State University
San Jose State University
Stanford University
University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP)
Wright State University